A fire quickly spread, engulfing Stirling Presbyterian Church in Baker St, leaving a pile of burnt rubble.
A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman said five crews were sent to the blaze at 6.20pm.
They were on scene until 12.30am.
Owner Misty Newcombe bought the church, located next to their home, when it was sold by the parish in 2016.
In recent years, it had been used by her and her family to store home renovation equipment.
‘‘The church was my husband’s man-cave ... there was lots of flammables as well like petrol, chainsaws, oil, gas tanks, cylinders, paint, you name it.’’
On Saturday night, Ms Newcombe’s teenage son and his friends were hanging out outside of the old church and started ‘‘mucking around’’ with their dirt bikes.
‘‘Yeah, it went sideways fast.’’
The teenagers were unharmed, but the fire spread very fast.
‘‘Nothing salvageable ... it’s all gone, just gone, absolutely everything’s gone,’’ Ms Newcombe said.
‘‘It was very, very scary — I’m still reeling.
‘‘I’m just really shaken up and upset ...’’
More than anything, it was a real blow to the community, she said.
Many residents would have memories of attending weddings, funerals, Sunday school and services at the church.
‘‘Everybody knew the Stirling Church, it was such a poignant building.’’
